What If We Blurred Genre In This Speculative Nonfiction Class?
w/ Emilly Prado

Four Wednesdays beginning October 22nd over Zoom from 4-6PM PST (10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12)
(All sessions will be recorded and recordings shared with registrants for a limited time afterwards.)

Sometimes the truth is too painful. Sometimes our access to facts has been erased by memory, by power. And sometimes “what if” can open a door to deeper vulnerability than “what happened” alone.

In this generative writing class, we’ll explore how nonfiction writers bend genre to tell their true stories with a speculative slant. Together, we’ll dive into the beautifully blurry space between memory and imagination, examining how speculation can illuminate truths that remain obscured by pain, erasure, or silencing.

We’ll study hybrid and creative nonfiction works from the likes of Saidiya Hartman, Jami Nakamura Lin, and Maxine Hong Kingston, and engage in playful but powerful writing exercises like imagining alternate timelines, writing the imagined self, and extended metaphors. You’ll leave with new tools to stretch form and conjure the unspeakable.

Pricing:

This course is offered on a three-tier sliding scale to support both accessibility and sustainability. Please select the tier that best reflects your current financial situation and access to resources:

$450 Supporter

$350 Sustainer

$250 Community

We invite you to choose the tier that is most generous and honest for your circumstances. Your thoughtful choice helps make this offering more equitable and sustainable for all.

Please select a tier based on your access to wealth (generational, safety net, land, etc), a living wage, health care, and your ability to financially support to the sliding scale model. Friends if you belong to a historically marginalized group. Below are additional considerations to guide your choice:

> Supporter: For those with financial abundance or access to wealth (generational, savings, land ownership, etc.) who can help sustain this work and support others' access.
> Sustainer: This amount reflects the actual cost of the course. Choose this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs and earn a living wage without significant strain.
> Community: Intended for those with limited income or financial resources. If you identify as QT/BIPOC and/or are navigating economic hardship, this rate is for you.

Need additional support? A limited number of scholarships are also available for those needing further financial assistance. Please email Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com for more info if you have questions or need support navigating the pricing.

Emilly Prado is the author of Funeral for Flaca (Future Tense Books, 2021), a Pacific Northwest Book Award winner praised by Ms. Magazine as “utterly vulnerable, bold, and unique,” and Examining Assimilation (Enslow, 2019), a youth nonfiction book on the intersections of culture, identity, and U.S. history. Her writing and photography have appeared in numerous outlets including NPR, Marie Claire, Bitch Media, and Eater, and her work has earned her accolades across writing, journalism, teaching, activism, and entrepreneurship. As an educator and cultural organizer, Emilly has built spaces that center joy, resistance, and creativity, including co-founding the Latiné DJ collective Noche Libre and the BIPOC arts nonprofit Portland in Color. She teaches creative writing at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and at literary organizations including Corporeal Writing, Tin House, Lighthouse, and Literary Arts. Emilly also offers workshops, keynotes, and custom talks on writing, creative career development, healing through storytelling, and more. Rooted in the belief that creative expression is essential for liberation, Emilly’s work spans the page, the stage, and the dance floor—all in service of community and collective imagination. Learn more at www.emillyprado.com or on social media @emillygprado.